Latest Mosquito Stories
Campaign Alerts Public of the Threat of West Nile Virus and Other Vector-Borne Diseases SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mosquitoes and warm weather go hand in hand. Coinciding with the arrival of mosquito season, the California State Legislature declared the week of April 21-27, 2013 as West Nile Virus and Mosquito and Vector Control Awareness Week in California. West Nile virus is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that can result in debilitating cases of meningitis and...
OXFORD, England, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec today announced the development of strains of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, which allow production of exclusively male populations and could greatly enhance the efficiency of silk farming. Writing in the international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/04/03/1221700110 abstract), Oxitec scientists report that the new strains will allow easy separation of...
Olfactor Laboratories, Inc. receives Federal research grant to further technology proven to inhibit mosquitos' ability to seek humans. Riverside, CA (PRWEB) April 15, 2013 Olfactor Laboratories, Inc. (OLI), an ieCrowd venture, was awarded a research grant from the United States National Institutes for Health (NIH), for the further development of OLI’s breakthrough technology proven to inhibit a mosquito’s ability to seek humans and animals by disrupting the insect’s CO2...
Researchers have discovered that rising temperature induces key changes in the dengue virus when it enters its human host, and the findings represent a new approach for designing vaccines against the aggressive mosquito-borne pathogen. The researchers found that the dengue virus particles swell slightly and take on a bumpy appearance when heated to human body temperature, exposing "epitopes," or regions where antibodies could attach to neutralize the virus. The discovery is significant...
OXFORD, England, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the 2013 Europe New Product Innovation Award by Frost & Sullivan, in recognition of its groundbreaking and environmentally-friendly approach to pest control. Frost and Sullivan describe Oxitec's leading-edge pest control products as "the most environmentally-friendly and sustainable approach to pest control currently available". The award was conferred after...
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Environmental Protection today announced it is awarding nearly $2.2 million in West Nile Virus Control program grants to 26 counties, which are slated to begin surveillance activities in early April. "This grant funding will help the counties that are most affected by West Nile Virus to monitor and control mosquitos," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. "It is important for us to work with our county partners...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Two Virginia Tech researchers successfully altered the eye color of a mosquito in an ongoing effort to develop genetic strategies with the specific goal to disrupt the transmission of disease such as malaria and dengue fever. Zach Adelman and Kevin Myles, associate professors of entomology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) have been studying vector-borne disease transmission on a genetic level to develop...
Terminix experts point to abundance of 2012 eggs soon to hatch Memphis, Tenn. (PRWEB) March 21, 2013 MEMPHIS, Tenn., Mar. 20, 2013 – As the old saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” But this year, Florida residents may be getting more than they bargained for with those springtime raindrops. A particularly wet 2012 summer resulted in flooding throughout the state and unleashed higher-than-normal numbers of pestiferous mosquitoes, including the recently-publicized...
Researchers monitored WNV in mosquitoes in the field and in the lab, and observed how the virus is transmitted between generations In California Culex mosquitoes are considered to be the principle vectors of West Nile virus (WNV), which infects birds, humans, and other mammals during the summer. In addition, these mosquitoes may also serve as overwintering reservoir hosts as the virus is passed "vertically" from female mosquito to egg, then larva, and then adult. To find out how often...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The insect repellant DEET has been widely used to keep mosquitoes away and has been invaluable in countries affected by outbreaks of disease such as malaria and dengue fever, both transmitted by the annoying pest. However, a new report in the open-access journal PLoS ONE finds that mosquitoes are less repelled by DEET after an initial exposure. According to the team of U.K. researchers who conducted the study, mosquitoes will ignore...
Latest Mosquito Reference Libraries
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease with a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family. It is transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes and is found in tropical and subtropical areas in South America and Africa, but not in Asia. Primates and a few kinds of mosquitoes are the only known hosts. The origin of the disease is most likely Africa. From there it was introduced to South America through the slave trade in the 16th century. There...
Aedes albopictus (Family Culicidae), the Asian Tiger Mosquito or Forest Day Mosquito, is characterized by its black and white striped legs and small, black and white body. It was native to south-east Asia, and occupied a habitat that spread from Madagascar eastward to New Guinea, and north to the latitude of Korea. The typical member of the Aedes albopictus has a length of about 5 mm. As with other members of the mosquito family, the female is outfitted with an elongated proboscis that she...
The crane flies (Tipulidae) are a family of insects that closely resemble giant mosquitoes. Like the mosquito, they are in the order Diptera (flies) and are sometimes called mosquito eaters, mosquito hawks, or skeeter eaters. They are also one of three unrelated arthropods named Daddy long-legs. The other two are the harvestmen and vibrating, cellar or house spider. As such, Crane Flies are wrapped up in the myth of being the most poisonous spider, but unable to bite humans. This is...
The mosquito is a member of the family Culicidae. These insects have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and long legs. Only the females of most mosquito species suck blood from other animals. Size varies but is rarely greater than 0.6 inch (15 mm). Mosquitoes weigh only about 0.03 to 0.04 grain (2 to 2.5 mg). They can fly at about 0.9 to 1.6 mph (1.5 to 2.5 km/h) and most species are nocturnal. Mosquitoes are believed to have evolved 170 million years ago during...
